RCGP leadership team

Dr Terry Kemple, RCGP President

Terry Kemple has been mostly a full time general practitioner for over 30 years in Bristol. Although he retired as senior partner from his practice at Horfield Health Centre at the end of 2015 he will continue to have roles including doing supernumerary clinical sessions, teaching, research and appraisals in his former practice and the NHS.

He has enjoyed a fulfilling career in general practice that started in 1980 with paper notes and the five and a half partners covering their patients on a rota overnight and at weekends including GP community beds and intrapartum care. Since then he and his practice has always been at the forefront of quality, innovation, teaching, and research in general practice.

The main points in his election manifesto were:

We must reduce unnecessary workload. We should recommend what we can safely and sensibly stop doing

We must have more GPs. We need the medical schools and the NHS to have their performance managed to produce the workforce of GPs we need. Many of the other specialist trainees will need training as community specialists so that they can work alongside or under the guidance of GPs

We must find the best new ways of providing primary care and spread them faster

We must change our status from disease generalists who have some knowledge of most diseases to patient specialists who understand the importance of everything that affects a patient

Dr Kemple will also use his presidency to promote the new Green Impact for Health awards. This scheme helps general practices improve their environmental, ethical and economic sustainability, as well as their efficiency, team morale and wellbeing.

Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, Chair of RCGP Council

Professor Stokes-Lampard was elected as Chair of Council, RCGP in July 2016, with a term of office from November 2016 - November 2019. The Chair’s duties include being the political and public head of the College and representing RCGP in the media. To request an interview, contact the RCGP press team.

She was formerly RCGP Hon Treasurer (2012-2016) with responsibility for all matters related to the College Finances and resources. She is a part time GP partner at the Cloisters Medical Practice in Lichfield, Staffordshire, since 2002, having trained in inner city Birmingham. She is a mentor for doctors in difficulty in the Midlands and her clinical interests include Women's health and end of life care.

Helen is also a Senior Lecturer at the University of Birmingham, although seconded to RCGP during her time as Chair, her main responsibility has been running undergraduate GP teaching. Her research interests span gynaecological cancer screening, all aspects of women's health, epidemiology and data linkage studies. She was Clinical Director of the accredited Primary Care Trials Unit until July 2012, has run an MSc programme, been programe director for Academic GP Trainees.

Professor Kamila Hawthorne, Vice Chair (Professional Development)

Professor Kamila Hawthorne took up the post of Vice Chair (Professional Development) in November 2015.

A practising GP in Cardiff, she has a long history with the College and has represented South East Wales Faculty on RCGP Council since 2007. She is a previous Chair of the College’s Assessment and Curriculum Development Committee, and a current MRCGP examiner.

Professor Hawthorne has been teaching undergraduate medical students since 1991. She held a senior teaching position at the University of Cardiff from 2002 until earlier this year when she took up the post of Associate Dean for Medicine/ Director of Medical Education in the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Surrey. Her role includes preparing a bid for a new Medical School.

Her research interests include the experiences of Black and Ethnic Minority (BME) communities in accessing health care and health education in the UK, particularly for patients with Type 2 Diabetes, and she has been a Trustee Board member for Diabetes UK.

Professor Martin Marshall, Vice Chair (External Affairs)

Martin Marshall is Professor of Healthcare Improvement at UCL, Programme Director for Primary Care at UCLP Partners and leads Improvement Science London, an initiative to promote and embed the science of improvement across the health service and academic sectors. In November 2016 he was elected to Vice Chair (External Affairs) of the RCGP.

Previously he was Director of R&D at the Health Foundation, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England and Director General in the Department of Health, a clinical academic at the University of Manchester and a Harkness Fellow in Healthcare Policy.

He has been a GP for 28 years, now serving an inner city community in Newham, East London. He is a fellow of the RCP and FPHM, and was a non-executive director of the Care Quality Commission until 2012.

He has over 200 publications in the field of quality of care and in 2005 he was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for Services to Health Care.

Professor Nigel Mathers, Honorary Secretary

As Honorary Secretary, Professor Mathers has responsibility for governance of the RCGP and leads on all College consultations, also hosting the College’s leadership and workforce portfolios.

Professor Nigel Mathers Professor and Head of the Academic Unit of Primary Medical Care at Sheffield University, Nigel Mathers qualified as MB ChB in 1979. The run-down, single person inner-city Sheffield practice he took over in 1989 has now grown to a four-partner teaching practice providing clinical placements for medical, nursing and counselling students as well as two GP Registrars.

He led the development of RCGP’s Clinical Innovation and Research Centre (CIRC) and was appointed to the NHS Evidence Advisory Board in 2008.

He has been an expert witness to the House of Lords, and a member of the Advisory Group on Welfare Reform for the DWP. He has also been Chair of the Trent RDSU, Trent Focus and the Sheffield Health and Social Research Consortium on behalf of the NHS.

He has published many papers in academic journals acted as Editor in Chief for the European Textbook of Family Medicine (2006). His current research interests are shared decision making, care planning in long term conditions and the unmet health needs of immigrant women.

Dr Steve Mowle, Honorary Treasurer

As Honorary Treasurer, Dr Mowle has responsibility for all matters relating to the College finances. He was Vice Chair of the RCGP from 2011-13 and was the lead officer for Commissioning, GP Nursing, the RCGP Annual National Conference, Patient Partnership (name changed since then but I think that’s OK) and Tthe GPC. He has also previously chaired South London Faculty Board and RCGP London.

He trained in Wales and has been a GP Partner at the Hetherington Group Practice in South London since 2000. Dr Mowle has held a number of different educational roles including GP Trainer, Programme Director and most recently Associate Dean for HEE, with lead roles around recruitment and supporting trainees in need of support. He currently works as an RCGP International Tutor in South Africa.

Dr Colin Hunter, Chair RCGP Trustee Board

Dr Colin Hunter is a GP at the Skene Medical Group in Aberdeenshire and the first-ever Chair of the RCGP Trustee Board, established in 2012.

A GP for 28 years and GP trainer, he was Chairman of the College in Scotland from 1996 to 2000, during which time he implemented a significant quality improvement programme for general practice.
In 2003, he was appointed Honorary Treasurer of the RCGP, a position he held until 2012.

As well as being responsible for the overall financial strategy and annual budget process for the RCGP, he led the historic accommodation review that included the sale of the College’s former home in Knightsbridge and culminated in the move to its new landmark headquarters at 30 Euston Square in central London in October 2012.

He also chairs the Quality and Outcomes Framework Independent Advisory Committee at the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), a role he has held since 2009.

He was awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours list in 2000 for his contribution to the development of primary care in Scotland.

Neil Hunt, Chief Executive

Neil joined the RCGP as Chief Executive in January 2011. He has significant experience of developing organisations in the charity sector and is currently leading an organisational and governance review at RCGP to ensure that general practice flourishes during this period of change.

Prior to his appointment at RCGP he was Chief Executive of the Alzheimer’s Society, where he led an impressive modernisation, developing new services, raising the public profile of the organisation, and increasing its revenue from £27m to £60m. He had notable success in lobbying government and chaired the advisory group that led to the National Dementia Strategy for England.

Fiona Erasmus, Executive Director of Professional Development and Standards

Fiona was appointed as the Executive Director of Professional Development and Standards in August 2016, bringing over 16 years of experience within medical/dental education.

She first joined the College in 2005 to set up the certification department (after the closure of the Joint Committee on Postgraduate Training for General Practice, where she had been the Head of Certification). In 2007, she became Head of Postgraduate Training and held this post until 2013, when she was appointed Director of the Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK) England, the professional membership body for general dental practitioners, at the Royal College of Surgeons.

Fiona is responsible for College work relating to postgraduate training, assessment and quality.

Jeremy joined the RCGP in September 2012 and has a demonstrable track record of commercial delivery in the Hotel, Leisure, Business Dining and Visitor Attractions sectors in both the UK and the USA.

He was previously the CEO of the British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions, where he lead numerous industry wide political campaigns along with supporting the memberships 2012 Olympic Tourism strategy. This followed 12 years with English Heritage, where he was instrumental in the successful transition from a state funded organisation to a standalone charity.

His role within the College is a dual one, as both the Managing Director of the Charity’s trading arms – RCGP Enterprises Ltd and RCGP Conferences Ltd, and the Executive Director of the Charity’s membership and development functions International and Fundraising.

He is accountable for leading the generation of substantial new income streams as part of the College’s commercial strategy, while ensuring that the professional role and ethos of the Charity are promoted and members’ needs anticipated and met.

Valerie Vaughan-Dick, Executive Director of Planning and Resources

Dr Vaughan-Dick (PhD) has worked at a senior level in the public, private and voluntary sectors. Valerie joined the RCGP as the Executive Director, Planning and Resources in September 2014 and her directorate covers Finance, Human Resources, IT, Facilities and Estates, Procurement and the Programmes Office.

Valerie started her career with the National Audit Office where she qualified as an accountant. She worked on value for money and financial audits of the Departments of Health & Social Security, Overseas Services, Local Government and Housing. Valerie has been an Executive Finance and Resources Director in central and local government, working on financial and strategic management issues. She has been a Chair of a NHS Trust and is presently the Chair of a Housing Association.

In 2008, she was awarded the HM Treasury Government Finance Profession 'Personality of the Year' award for excellence in financial management.

RCGP Devolved Council Chairs

Dr Miles Mack, Chair RCGP Scotland

Dr Mack was born in Essex and moved to the Highlands aged 15. He qualified from the University of Edinburgh in 1989 and undertook the Highland Vocational Training Scheme. He has been a partner at Dingwall Medical Group since 1993.

After becoming a partner he began tutoring undergraduate medical students starting a long term interest in education. He was an Associate Advisor with SCPDME with responsibility for CPD, set up the East Highland PLT scheme and a GP mentoring scheme. He was a trainer and taught on the Scottish Prospective Trainers course from 2001-2011.

In 2001 he was asked to assist in writing a Depression Guideline for NHS. He continues to act as a GP advisor for Mental Health to NHS Highland. Dr Mack has always actively represented GP issues on committees, he was RCGP Scotland Deputy Chair (Policy) from 2013-2014, and is Chair of RCGP North of Scotland Faculty and Chairs the NHS Highland Area Medical Committee.

In 2011 he became interested in celebrating the centenary of the Dewar Report, a ground breaking document that led directly to the creation of the NHS some 30 years later. This work, with colleagues, has inspired a new direction and collaboration in developing remote and rural healthcare. Dr Mack was made a fellow of RCGP in 2009 and was awarded the RCGP Scotland Alasdair Donald Award for General Practice in 2012. He because Chair of RCGP Scotland on 15 November 2014.

Dr Rebecca Payne, Chair RCGP Wales

Dr Rebecca Payne has been a GP since 2007. She has worked in a variety of practices including MOD St Athan, practices in the Welsh Valleys, Cardiff and North Wales. She has a special interest in community paediatrics, working as a staff grade for several years alongside a General Practice role. Rebecca also has an interest in urgent primary care, and was Medical Advisor to North Wales GPOOH before taking up her current role as a Primary Care Clinical Director leading on unscheduled primary care for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board. You can follow her on twitter at @oohgpwales

Dr Gráinne Doran Chair RCGP Northern Ireland

Dr Gráinne Doran is a GP from Northern Ireland. Originally from Kilkeel, she graduated from Queens University Belfast Medical School in 1986. After her GP training she worked in Community Child Health in Belfast from 1990 to 1992 subsequently moving to Bangor, County Down to take up a partnership in general practice.
She has served on RCGPNI Council since its formation in 2003 and has 7 years’ experience as RCGPNI Deputy Chair Policy. As chair of the North Down Integrated Care Partnership, she has had a leadership role in developing patient centred, integrated care.

A strong advocate of the generalist role in primary care, Gráinne has particular interest in women’s health, musculoskeletal medicine and diabetes.
She has been an undergraduate GP tutor for Queens University for over 20 years. She holds an MPhil in Medical Ethics and Law (QUB).

Married with two sons, Gráinne balances a busy professional and home life with a passion for music and is director of Belfast based chamber choir Cantiunculae.